PURPOSE: As nursing changes, it is challenging to provide an efficient and comprehensive orientation program for new nurses. Challenges include the lack of experienced and skilled preceptors, increased patient acuity, staffing shortages, and generational differences. A 12 bed PCU trialed a team mentoring orientation program with a group of six new nurses. The program was designed to meet the needs of new nurses, including emotional and professional support, while utilizing a small group of mentors. Description: New graduate nurses were divided into two teams of three nurses. Each team was paired with 1 preceptor. The first week of orientation on the unit, they attended 2 unit specific seminar days which included survival tips, orientation guidelines, nursing policies, and team building games. The new graduate nurses worked two 8 hour shifts and two 12 hour shifts the second week of orientation. The 8 hour shifts were provided by the hospital's nursing education department and included a review of critical care skills. The 12 hour shifts were worked on the unit in their teams. Each team was responsible for the care of 3 patients. Within the teams, each new graduate nurse was assigned to 1 patient and was primarily responsible for that patient's care with assistance from the preceptor. Weeks 3 through 7 both teams worked 12 hour shifts. The patient load went from 1 to 2 patients. Both preceptors managed a maximum of 4 patients and 2 new graduate nurses. The third nurse rotated through a series of shadow experiences and night shifts. At the beginning of week 8, a third orientation seminar day was completed. During weeks 8 through 10 they were paired with individual preceptors and patient load increased to three patients. EVALUATION: We retained all 6 new graduates at the one year mark. Two of the new graduates have informed us of their intention to leave due to preparation for CRNA school and moving back to a home state. There has been an increase in patient satisfaction scores from 86.8% to 88.2%. Our vacancy decreased to 9%. Several quality indicators improved including prn medication documentation from 86% to 0% noncompliance, nosocomial infections decreased from 6.9% to 0.8%, and patient/family education documentation from 100% to 0% noncompliance. The programhas radically improved participant confidence and expertise,as well as unit morale and cohesion.

Repository Posting Date:

26-Oct-2011

Date of Publication:

26-Oct-2011

Citation:

2009 National Teaching Institute Research Abstracts. American Journal of Critical Care, 18(3), e1-e17.

Conference Date:

2009

Conference Name:

National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition

Conference Host:

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses

Conference Location:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Note:

This is an abstract-only submission. If the author has submitted a full-text item based on this abstract, you may find it by browsing the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository by author. If author contact information is available in this abstract, please feel free to contact him or her with your queries regarding this submission. Alternatively, please contact the conference host, journal, or publisher (according to the circumstance) for further details regarding this item.
If a citation is listed in this record, the item has been published and is available via open-access avenues or a journal/database subscription. Contact your library for assistance in obtaining the as-published article.

PURPOSE: As nursing changes, it is challenging to provide an efficient and comprehensive orientation program for new nurses. Challenges include the lack of experienced and skilled preceptors, increased patient acuity, staffing shortages, and generational differences. A 12 bed PCU trialed a team mentoring orientation program with a group of six new nurses. The program was designed to meet the needs of new nurses, including emotional and professional support, while utilizing a small group of mentors. Description: New graduate nurses were divided into two teams of three nurses. Each team was paired with 1 preceptor. The first week of orientation on the unit, they attended 2 unit specific seminar days which included survival tips, orientation guidelines, nursing policies, and team building games. The new graduate nurses worked two 8 hour shifts and two 12 hour shifts the second week of orientation. The 8 hour shifts were provided by the hospital's nursing education department and included a review of critical care skills. The 12 hour shifts were worked on the unit in their teams. Each team was responsible for the care of 3 patients. Within the teams, each new graduate nurse was assigned to 1 patient and was primarily responsible for that patient's care with assistance from the preceptor. Weeks 3 through 7 both teams worked 12 hour shifts. The patient load went from 1 to 2 patients. Both preceptors managed a maximum of 4 patients and 2 new graduate nurses. The third nurse rotated through a series of shadow experiences and night shifts. At the beginning of week 8, a third orientation seminar day was completed. During weeks 8 through 10 they were paired with individual preceptors and patient load increased to three patients. EVALUATION: We retained all 6 new graduates at the one year mark. Two of the new graduates have informed us of their intention to leave due to preparation for CRNA school and moving back to a home state. There has been an increase in patient satisfaction scores from 86.8% to 88.2%. Our vacancy decreased to 9%. Several quality indicators improved including prn medication documentation from 86% to 0% noncompliance, nosocomial infections decreased from 6.9% to 0.8%, and patient/family education documentation from 100% to 0% noncompliance. The program<br/>has radically improved participant confidence and expertise,<br/>as well as unit morale and cohesion.

en_GB

dc.date.available

2011-10-26T19:27:54Z

-

dc.date.issued

2011-10-26

en_GB

dc.date.accessioned

2011-10-26T19:27:54Z

-

dc.identifier.citation

2009 National Teaching Institute Research Abstracts. American Journal of Critical Care, 18(3), e1-e17.

en_GB

dc.conference.date

2009

en_GB

dc.conference.name

National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition

en_GB

dc.conference.host

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses

en_GB

dc.conference.location

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

en_GB

dc.identifier.citation

2009 National Teaching Institute Research Abstracts. American Journal of Critical Care, 18(3), e1-e17.

en_GB

dc.description.note

This is an abstract-only submission. If the author has submitted a full-text item based on this abstract, you may find it by browsing the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository by author. If author contact information is available in this abstract, please feel free to contact him or her with your queries regarding this submission. Alternatively, please contact the conference host, journal, or publisher (according to the circumstance) for further details regarding this item.
If a citation is listed in this record, the item has been published and is available via open-access avenues or a journal/database subscription. Contact your library for assistance in obtaining the as-published article.

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